GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS  Symptoms may include

inflammation, redness, swelling,

 Gram negative diplococci,
and dysuria (painful urination)
kidney shaped with adjacent
 Also came conjunctivitis
sides flattened.
(ophthalmia neonatorum –
 Most are encapsulated, non-
infants), pharyngitis, proctitis or
spore former.
urethritis, prostitis, rectal
 Non – motile
involvement, cervico-vaginitis,
 Oxidase and Catalase positive
PID and orchitis.
 Anaerobe to facultative aerobes
 Crede’s prophylaxis – 1% silver
 Requires 2-10% CO2 for growth
nitrate in neonates eyes to
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS prevent blindness (ophthalmia
neonatorum)
 Fastidious organisms requiring
complex nutritional growth.
 Translucent, grayish, convex, DGI – Disseminated Gonococcal
shiny colonies with entire margins Infectionb
that are non-hemolytic and non-
 Most often present as arthritis –
pigmented.
aching and swelling in the joints
 N. Gonorrhea also known as
but they can also cause skin
gonococcus/gonococci
lesions and infections of the
 Also called the “clap” which is
heart, bones, and the sheaths
derived from the French word
that cover the nervous system
“clapier” meaning “brothel”.
(meninges).
 Causes agent of gonorrhea a
 In rare cases, disseminated
sexually transmitted disease.
gonorrheae can even be fatal.
 Require nutrient supplementation
to grow in laboratory cultures. LABORATORY SPECIMENS
Specifically, they grow on CAP
 Blood
with Co2.
 CSF
 Is able to prevent an immune
 Synovial Fluid
response
 Discharges
 The host is also unable to develop
an immunological memory Culture Media
against N. gonorrhoeae – which
means that future re-infection is  THAYER MARTIN MEDIUM
possible.  Enriched cap with
supplement B or Isovitale X
MANIFESTATIONS and Antibiotics
 Infection of the genitals can Vancomycin – inhibits gram +
result in a purulent (or pus like) Colistin – inhibits gram –
discharge from the genitals Nystatin – inhibits fungi
which may be foul smelling.
 MODIFIED THAYER MARTIN
MEDIUM
  Additional of hemoglobin
solution and trimethophrim
lactate which inhibits the
spreading of proteus.
TRANSGROW MEDIUM
 a Thayer martin medium with
glucose, 2% agar,
trimetophrim, lactate and
CO2 incorporated in a bottle.
 MARTIN LEWIS MEDIUM
 A modified Thayer martin
medium with the substitution
of anisomycin, an antifungal
agent with a longer half-life
for nystatin.
 New York city medium
 Also modified Thayer martin
medium with substitution of
Amphoteracin B
LABORATORY IDENTIFICATION
 Oxidase test – presumptive test
 FAT – fluorescent antibody
tagging test
 Degradation of carbohydrate
 Cultivation in CTA (Cysteine
Tellurite Agar) positive for glucose
 Cultivation in TMM with
vancomycin, colistin and nystatin
 Modified TM (with trimetroprim
lactate to prevent swarming)
 Martin Lewis with anisomycin to
prevent growth of fungi
 NYCA with amphotericin to
prevent growth of fungi
 CAP
N. meningitidis
 Often referred to as
meningococcus, is a bacterium
that can use meningitis.
 And other forms of
meningococcal disease such as
meningococcemia, a life
threatening sepsis.
 Also associated with
cerebrospinal lever or
Waterhouse Friderichsen
syndrome
 The gold standard of diagnosi is
isolation of N. meningitidis from
sterile body fluid.
N. meningitidis vs. N. gonorrhoeae
 N. meningitidis
- Glucose +
- Maltose +
- Capsule +
- Causes meningitis
- Oxidase +
 N. gonorrhoeae
- Glucose +
- Maltose –
- Capsule –
- Causes gonorrhoeae
- Oxidase +
MORAXELLA CATARRHALIS
- is a
fastidious, nonmotile, Gram-
negative, aerobic, oxidase-
positive diplococcus that can
cause infections of the
respiratory system, middle ear,
eye, central nervous system,
septicemia, sinusistis,
pneumonia and joints of
humans.
- was previously placed in a
separate genus
named Branhamella. The
rationale for this was that
other members of the
genus Moraxella are rod-
shaped and rarely caused
infections in humans.
However, results from DNA
hybridization studies
and 16S rRNA sequence
comparisons were used to
 justify inclusion of the
species M. catarrhalis in the
genus Moraxella.
- As a consequence, the
name Moraxella catarrhalis is
currently preferred for these
bacteria. Nevertheless, some
in the medical field continue
to call these
bacteria Branhamella
catarrhalis.
- Resistant to penicillin ,
amoxicillin, and ampicillin.
- Cultured in BAP and CAP with
gray to white colonies and
waxy surface.
- Dnase +
- Hockey puck test in which a
wooden stick is used to try to
push the colonies across the
plate. The M.
catarrhalis colonies scored
positively on this test, which
means they could be slid
across the plate.

 Veillonella are Gram-negative

anaerobic cocci. This bacterium
is well known for its lactate
fermenting abilities. They are a
normal bacterium in the
intestines and oral mucosa of
mammals. In humans they have
been rarely implicated in cases
of osteomyelitis and endocarditis
- V. parvula is the important
species
- Oxidase +
- Sugar degradation negative
- Dnase -